The long-awaited trial of Keefe D, the alleged mastermind behind the 1996 murder of rap icon Tupac Shakur, has been pushed back by five months.
Originally scheduled to begin on June 3, 2024, the trial has been pushed to November after Keefe D’s new attorney, Carl “E.G.” Arnold, requested a delay.
According to HipHop DX, the new lawyer said he needed more time to review the evidence and prepare his defense. A Howard University School of Law graduate and a member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, Arnold replaced Keefe D’s public defenders last month.
The trial of Keefe D
Keefe D, whose real name is Duane Davis, was indicted by a grand jury in September 2023 for his role in the fatal drive-by shooting that took place in Las Vegas after a Mike Tyson fight.
The former leader of the South Side Compton Crips gang pleaded not guilty to the charge of open murder with a deadly weapon and a gang enhancement. He claims that he was not in Las Vegas at the time of the shooting, and that he has no knowledge of who pulled the trigger.
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However, he had previously admitted in interviews and in his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend that he was in the car that carried out the attack on Tupac and his entourage. He said that he wanted revenge for his nephew Orlando Anderson, who was beaten up by Tupac and his associates at the MGM Grand Hotel earlier that night.
Lawyer confident of bail for Keefe D
Arnold told reporters on Tuesday, February 20, that he was confident that Keefe D would be able to post bail, which was set at $750,000 in cash by the judge in January. He also said that his client was optimistic that he would be acquitted of the murder charge.
“He’s upbeat that he can possibly get out of here real soon. The state has to provide evidence of a gun, of a car, and, most importantly, whether Mr. Davis was even in Las Vegas at the time,” the lawyer said.
The judge also ruled that Keefe D could be placed under house arrest with an ankle monitor if he managed to pay the bail. Keefe D’s previous attorneys had argued that he posed no danger to the public due to his poor health. The accused suffers from cancer and diabetes, and has been receiving treatment in jail.
Suspect used to brag about killing Tupac
Meanwhile, a former police officer has stated that the nephew of Keefe D, bragged about being the man behind the shooting that led to the killing of Tupac for years.
During an interview with DJ Vlad, former Compton Gang Unit Officer Robert Ladd recalled how his agency received evidence naming renowned Compton gang member Orlando Anderson as Pac’s shooter. Ladd further stated that informants put Keefe D and other associates inside the car when the shooting occurred.
“Within the next few days of the shooting, we started getting calls from informants. And our first ones were saying, ‘Hey it’s Keefe [and] Orlando was the shooter.’ They’re telling us that Bubble Up and Big Dre were in the car. This is days after. This is informants are telling us,” Ladd told DJ Vlad